SI's Bri Amaranthus and Chris Halicke discuss Texas Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus and take on baseball without fans in attendance.
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00:00 In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, we're all sitting around waiting for sports to start back up again.
00:06 And what that looks like and when is still very much to be determined.
00:11 It will likely be a shortened season and it will definitely be a season unlike any other that has come before it.
00:19 One option is playing games without fans.
00:22 Now, Sports Illustrated's Chris Halleck got to caught up with veteran shortstop Elvis Andrews on his take over the phone.
00:29 Well, when Elvis Andrews speaks, we listen and he's been a fan favorite for a long time.
00:35 And so whenever he says something, especially, you know, during this time when we're missing baseball so much, you know, we're going to listen.
00:42 And, you know, whenever he was asked about the possibility of playing games without fans, he just he said baseball without fans is not baseball.
00:51 And, you know, we've we've all seen it on TV and it hits us right right here whenever a little kid gets a foul ball for the first time or they get their players autographed.
01:03 You see the tears in their eyes because they're just so happy that they met their hero.
01:07 Those fan experiences, if the stadiums are empty, it's going to be a totally different atmosphere.
01:12 And so he also understands, you know, this is a very fluid situation.
01:17 They're going to salvage the season, you know, any way that they possibly can.
01:21 If that means for a month or two months or however long that there's going to be baseball games without fans, then so be it.
01:27 That's what they're what they're going to have to do.
01:30 They all hope for the best and hope that they can play either all of the games or most of the games with fans in attendance.
01:36 And Elvis is one of those players that wants to have fans there.
01:39 The fan interaction is huge.
01:41 Whether you're at home or on the road, the fan interaction is a huge part of baseball.
01:47 The stadium, along with just that, that atmosphere is unique to baseball.
01:52 And it's it's something that players are going to miss as well if that is taken away.
01:57 So when it comes to games without fans, Elvis is definitely not for that.
02:01 But at the same time, he understands that this is an unprecedented situation.
02:05 situation.